holiday shopping

The Poketo Annual Holiday Sale and Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale are going on this weekend in Downtown LA. I'm looking forward to scoring some awesome gifts for my friends and family. Both events are free admission with lots of free goodies for shoppers, so come on down if you're in the area!

art in the streets

Busy week! 10 new items are up in the shop. I'm still working on the rest. Sometimes I underestimate how much time I need to get certain things done. I have the tendency to forget that my meticulous nature means that it takes me twice as long to get stuff done, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing (in this case, kind of a bad thing).

The photos above are from the "Art in the Streets" exhibit at the The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The exhibit chronicles the entire history of street art, from the mass production of spray paint in the 1960s (I loved the wall of vintage spray paint cans) to Shepard Fairey's Obama "HOPE" poster in 2008 and the release of  Exit Through the Gift Shop in 2010. So many fun and inspiring things to see. Next Monday is the last day of the exhibit, so I'm glad I got to see it just before it ended.

food truck love, homer style

On Saturday, I attended the Outdoor Cinema Food Fest at Exposition Park. This is a weekly summer event that's now in it's second year, and it's become one of my favorite things to do in LA in the summertime. This past weekend, they screened Reservoir Dogs. As excited as I was for the movie, I was even more excited for the food. I finally got to try the Border Grill Truck, from chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken. I can safely say that it's the best food truck I've ever been to (and I've been to many). Their quinoa fritters, Peruvian ceviche, green corn tamal, and churro tots were out-of-this-world good, and the service was fast and friendly. I can't wait to go back for more.

I also paid a visit to my favorite ice cream truck, Lake Street Creamery. I've tried a few of their flavors, but their donut ice cream is the one that I keep going back to (it tastes exactly like a powdered donut!). This time I asked them to make it "Homer style," with pink candy shell and rainbow nonpareils. Perfect! One of the many things I love about Lake Street Creamery is that they serve their ice cream in a waffle bowl with a wooden spoon. It's such a practical but clever twist on the familiar. If you live in the LA area and haven't tried it, you definitely should. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Here's a photo from the Outdoor Cinema Food Fest at Exposition Park, stolen from my friend because she has a fancy iPhone that takes fancy photos and I don't:

hamm & banksy

This handsome, handsome man will be hosting a screening of Tootsie at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles tonight. To say that I'm "looking forward to it" would be a huge understatement. I get to see Jon Hamm and the (almost as good-looking) young Dustin Hoffman in the same evening. It's win-win!

Yesterday I went to a screening of the Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop. It was really great - unexpectedly funny and thought-provoking. It was interesting to see the story and process behind all the street art that's so prevalent throughout LA. There's so much amazing footage in the film. If it's playing anywhere near you, go see it!

the donut man

I still haven't gotten around to sorting through the New York photos. I've been busy enjoying every second of my Spring break. So sad that it's coming to an end.

Last Saturday, I met up with my best friend for an early dinner at The Boiling Crab. Later that night, we picked up a few donuts from The Donut Man. We got a strawberry donut to share, plus one for our friend. It is the best donut ever. The strawberries always taste fresh and sweet (but not too sweet), and the donut itself is so big that you have to eat it with a knife and fork. In fact, this donut is so good that it made the cover of LA Weekly's "99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Die" issue.

We also tried a few cream puff-inspired donuts - French donuts filled with cream cheese and topped with powdered sugar. We got all three flavors: plain, blueberry, and raspberry. I liked the plain one the best, but all three tasted delicious. I was afraid that the cream cheese would be too rich, but it was really light and fluffy. I grew up 5 minutes away from Donut Man, and it hasn't changed at all since I was a kid. It's always been great. If you ever find yourself in the San Gabriel Valley area, definitely pay them a visit.

la street food fest

The 1st Annual LA Street Food Fest was a couple of weekends ago. Since it was the first event of its kind in LA, I knew to prepare for disappointment. That being said, I actually ended up having a pretty good time. Sure, there were huge crowds and long lines, but the people were friendly, the DJ played good music, and of course, the food was delicious.

My goal was to visit three food trucks that I'd been wanting to try out. I was able to try two of them: Coolhaus and The Grilled Cheese Truck. I got to sample two mini treats at Coolhaus: a chocolate chip cookie & maple with candied bacon ice cream sammie and a brownie & strawberry ice cream sammie. Both were so good and perfect for the near 80-degree weather that we were having that day. My friends and I tried out a few different sandwiches from The Grilled Cheese Truck, but the hands-down winner was the Brie Melt - double cream brie, a slice of crisp Bosc pear, and honey on cranberry walnut bread. The textures and flavors were incredible! The perfect mix of creamy, crunchy, savory, and sweet. I've been craving another Brie Melt ever since. I plan on recreating it at home sometime soon. My hunger wasn't even close to being satisfied by the time I left the festival, so I ended up stopping for chicken wings at Kyochon (best chicken wings ever). Yeah, it was a fairly gluttonous day, but I'm not making any apologies. Food is amazing. Days like this make me feel lucky to live in LA.

I (h)EA(r)T LA

Going to the LA Street Food Fest today, armed with an empty stomach and a fully charged camera battery. Stay tuned for photos! In the meantime, here's Amy Poehler and her dreamy panda boyfriend:

via Bust

Whatever you're celebrating this weekend, have a great one!

zombies & pie

This weekend I watched Zombieland. I loved it. It managed to be clever, crude, funny, and kind of touching, all at the same time. I hope I start seeing Jesse Eisenberg in more movies after the success of this one. I've been a fan ever since I saw him in The Squid and the Whale. The boyfriend and I decided to watch Drag Me To Hell when we got home, which turned our Friday movie night into a really good, scary/funny double feature. I love Sam Raimi.

On Saturday, we went to an early evening screening of Paranormal Activity at Arclight Hollywood. Half the people at our screening were scared out of their minds; the other half were bored out of their minds. I belonged to the former half of that group. That movie thoroughly scared the bejeezus out of me, but I could see how some people might be bored. I think it all depends on how much patience you have and what kind of movies you find scary. Some people like those balls-out horror films, where the scares and gore come early and often. Some people like films with a bunch of creepy moments that hint at the big payoff at the end. Those are the kinds of horror films that I like, and that's the kind of film that Paranormal Activity is.

After the movie, we went to the Farmers Market and had dinner at Du-par's. I ordered the chicken pot pie because I don't recall ever eating it before (I'm Filipino-Chinese, so I missed out on a lot of American dishes growing up). The pot pie was flaky, piping hot and delicious. For dessert, I had to try a piece of their famous pie (yeah, more pie). I decided on blueberry cream cheese with a graham cracker crust. Holy crap, it was good. I didn't take any pictures of my food, as I'm usually apt to do, because I devoured it way too quickly. But there will be more photo ops - I still need to try the rest of their pies!

Ah, food and movies. My two favorite things. It was a good weekend.

Dress from Forever 21. Cardigan from H&M. Scarf from a thift store. Coach bag. Chinese Laundry boots.

another sweet weekend

Saturday's outfit. This was hastily thrown together after I realized that it was 80 degrees outside and I had to put my normal uniform of dress/cardigan/tights on hold for a day. I even used a different bag! This one has little raindrops printed all over it. It's one of my favorites.

On Saturday night I went to Chinatown for my aunt's 60th birthday dinner. Afterward, my cousins and I were craving dessert (unfortunately, the fortune cookie did not suffice), so we went to my all-time favorite ice cream place, Scoops. Scoops is a little shop in LA that hosts an ever-changing variety of unusual and intriguing flavor combinations. Every time I go, I always have a difficult time deciding which flavors to get. But no matter what I get, I'm never disappointed.

This time I picked Thai tea and black sesame taro (which tasted a bit like peanut butter). It was the most delicious bowl of orange and grey ice cream I've ever had! The flavors actually complemented each other really well. The other two bowls belong to my cousins, who got caramel Irish cream and strawberry banana, respectively. What a nice way to end a Saturday. I hope everyone's weekend was just as nice!

sweet weekend

On Sunday I had lunch with my friends at Porto's in Glendale. I had a grilled chicken sandwich (served with plantain chips on the side) and a yummy blended chai latte. My friends got a variety of sweet treats, including cheesecake, tres leches, and a piña colada cake (so pretty!).

I didn't get any sweets at Porto's because afterwards we planned on taking a trip down the street to Crumbs Bake Shop. Wow, that place is cupcake overload! Their cupcakes are the size of muffins, and there are so many to choose from. Upon entering the shop, my friends and I spent the first few minutes marveling at all the amazing flavors, like Banana Split, Apple Cobbler, Cookie Dough, and Neopolitan. I finally decided on Peanut Butter Banana (with chocolate creme in the center, which I was pleasantly surprised to discover as I was devouring it) and my all-time favorite, Carrot Cake. They were so delicious and rich. I would've felt guilty eating both of them by myself, so I saved half of each and gave them to my brother and my dad. I already want to go back and try some of the other flavors, though I might not be so willing to share them next time.

Yesterday I also collected some Christmas gifts from my friends, since I didn't get to see them around the holidays. I got some wonderful things, which I'll share in my next post. My friends are the best.

sunday

I went to Unique Los Angeles on Sunday and had a great time. The space was huge and there was so much to look at; it was a bit overwhelming. I ended up buying an adorable dress from Misha Lulu for my baby cousin and some other gifts for people who I won't mention because, unlike my baby cousin, those gift recipients can read and might stumble upon this blog. I also bought some "Brave Girl" band-aids from the lovely Ariel of Sticker Sisters because I've been procuring an ungodly amount of paper cuts lately and have been going band-aid-less for months. My friend got me the famous Sandwich Dinosaur tee from the Seibei booth (we were informed that Amy Sedaris is a fan, which makes it that much more awesome). We sipped on complimentary tea and bought some yummy treats from Cake Monkey. The whole atmosphere of Unique LA was so positive and fun (and the DJ was pretty good, too!). I can't wait to go again next year.

unique los angeles

If you're going to be in the LA area this weekend, you should check out Unique Los Angeles. This is a marketplace of 200 local vendors, selling everything from t-shirts to beauty products to housewares to cute little plush toys. Find one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones, support independent artists and businesses, and help out a good cause (50% of ticket proceeds go to Create Now!) all at the same time. Plus, there will be cake! All in all, a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.

Visit uniquelosangeles.com for more info.